April 2003, Volume 14, Issue 2
The Czech Republic’s First Decade
Invited to join the European Union next year, the Czech Republic has a weak governing coalition that faces deep challenges at home.
3166 Results
The Miami Times Black Wall Street March 11 2025 article
April 1998, Volume 9, Issue 2
Documents on Democracy
Excerpts from: remarks and homily of Pope John Paul II given during his visit to Cuba; South Korean president Kim Dae Jung’s inaugural address.
April 2015, Volume 26, Issue 2
The Authoritarian Resurgence: Autocratic Legalism in Venezuela
Why do some hybrid regimes remain stable over time, while others become more authoritarian? Venezuela’s autocratic turn has been driven by the ruling party’s declining electoral fortunes and by a foreign policy that has shielded it from international scrutiny.
July 2022, Volume 33, Issue 3
How Putin’s War in Ukraine Has Ruined Russia
The first two months of the war alone turned the Russian clock back decades, undoing thirty years of post-Soviet economic gains and reducing the country to an international pariah state.
January 2005, Volume 16, Issue 1
The Referendum in Venezuela: Elections versus Democracy
While charges of electronic fraud in the actual voting or vote-counting are unproven, the dubious and even illegal tactics that the Chavez regime used throughout the larger process point to rampant "institutional fraud" that is undermining Venezuelan democracy.
April 2000, Volume 11, Issue 2
The Politics of the Asian Financial Crisis
The political dimensions of the 1997-99 Asian financial crisis have been largely ignored. Yet political factors are crucial to understanding the crisis and the differing ways in which the democracies and authoritarian regimes in the region responded to it.
January 2011, Volume 22, Issue 1
Two Essays on China’s Quest for Democracy
Imprisoned Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo, who was awarded the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize, is best known for his eloquent and incisive essays. Two of them are featured here: “Can It Be That the Chinese People Deserve Only ‘Party-Led Democracy’?” and “Changing the Regime by Changing Society.”
October 2005, Volume 16, Issue 4
Preempting Democracy: The Case of Belarus
Having drawn lessons from the downfall of some of his fellow autocrats, President Alyaksandr Lukashenka is preventing the emergence of an effective democratic movement in Belarus.
October 2006, Volume 17, Issue 4
Exchange: Mistaking Data for “Theory”
We should neither be too hasty to discount the prodemocratic political ferment in the Arab world, nor be fooled into thinking that Islamist groups will play a constructive part in democratic transitions.
April 2005, Volume 16, Issue 2
Challenge and Change in East Asia: “Business Populism” in Thailand
Recently reelected premier Thaksin Shinawatra and his "Thais Love Thais" party offer a fusion of populist rhetoric with policies that serve the interests of the Thai business class.
July 2004, Volume 15, Issue 3
The Perils of Identity Politics
Three leading French political thinkers reflect on why modern democracies tend to forget their own natures, even to the point of encouraging an assertive "identitarianism" that could undermine liberal democracy itself.
January 2003, Volume 14, Issue 1
The 30th Anniversary Freedom House Survey: Modern Democracy as a System of Separations
The “system of separations” is a historic achievement that must be defended even against normatively “purer” understandings of democracy.
October 2002, Volume 13, Issue 4
Democratization in the Arab World?: Algeria’s Uneasy Peace
While many obstacles to democracy gravely mar Algeria's political life, the country's trajectory still affords some grounds for guarded optimism.
October 2002, Volume 13, Issue 4
Democratization in the Arab World?: Stirrings in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia would seem to exemplify full-blown authoritarianism. Yet there are trends pushing the country toward more open politics.
October 2002, Volume 13, Issue 4
Democratization in the Arab World? The Trap of Liberalized Autocracy
Politics in the Arab Middle East is often a matter of powerholders first liberalizing — and then "deliberalizing" — public life in order to first maintain their rule. But this "survival strategy" is a dead end.
April 2002, Volume 13, Issue 2
Elections Without Democracy: Thinking About Hybrid Regimes
Many countries have adopted the form of democracy with little of its substance. This makes the task of classifying regimes more difficult, but also more important.
July 2001, Volume 12, Issue 3
Francophone Africa in Flux: Niger Gets Back on Track
After a failed democratic experiment in 1993-96 and two military coups, Niger successfully held free and fair elections in 1999. The next couple of years will be crucial to the long-term survival of democracy.
July 2001, Volume 12, Issue 3
Women and Democracy: Regional Differences and Contrasting Views
An increase in women’s political mobilization has accompanied the global trend toward democratization, but women’s movements have taken diverse paths in different regions of the world.
April 2001, Volume 12, Issue 2
Democratization Falters in Azerbaijan
The November 2000 parliamentary elections, expected to be a step forward for democracy, instead turned into a major setback, casting doubt on the country’s future stability.
October 2000, Volume 11, Issue 4
A Reply to My Accusers
An Egyptian civil-society leader responds to the closing down of his organization and the allegations against him by state prosecutors.